They say that opposites attract. If that is the case, then desirable room temperatures are creating an unbreakable bond between me and my mate. I am always hot, he is always cold. I’m talking extreme polar opposites.
When the first leaves begin to change color in fall, he breaks out his insulated boots, and techno-heated gloves. I cling to my flip-flops till the first snow fall. One of our favorite pastimes is that old game “who has been messing with the thermostat?” The children have become temperature savvy, they put on sweaters when I win, and T-shirts if he gets control. This difference of opinion is most evident at Fall/Winter sporting events. I toss on a cardigan or light windbreaker, while he dons a Carhart jumpsuit that is rated to withstand temperatures of 30 below. With that outfit, and two flashlights he could guide jumbo jets in at our local airport. He owns an entire drawer of insulated socks, and long underwear. I won’t begin to tell you about his stock of winter head gear. If our planet ever experiences another ice-age, he will be the go to guy. I, on the other hand, enjoy things a little brisk. He claims that our home is so cold during the summer; it could be mistaken for a meat locker. I retorted that I felt like I was living in equatorial Africa during the winter months.
The temperature tussles really go into high gear in the bedroom. I sneak off to bed before him, and crack the window a little bit. I breathe deeply the cool fresh air, and drift off to sleep. If I do not wake when he is closing the window, and grumbling about heating the whole outdoors, I will wake up as I suffocate under the massive amount of quilts he tossed on. A friend suggested an electric blanket as a solution. That was rejected the first night. We had mixed up the dual controls; he nearly roasted me alive by turning that thing up to maximum heat. I still get nightmares! By dawn you can usually find me sprawled atop the covers gasping for air. I’m so hot that you can cook flapjacks on my forehead. Meanwhile he slumbers on, wrapped in a cocoon of blankets.
When our eldest left for college, we had different ideas about what temperature related items he would require. His father did not think the comforter, quilt, blanket, and afghan would be enough to ward off the chill in the “notoriously overheated” (my opinion) dorm room. I felt that you can never have enough fans, when air-conditioning is non-existent. A truce was called; he left with one industrial strength fan, and minus one afghan. We sound like the three bears when we talk to him; “is your room too cold”, “is your room too hot?” He always assures us that it’s just right!
Our upcoming temperature skirmish will deal with the question “where are we going to retire?” I’ll let you guess who plans to go to Florida!
No comments:
Post a Comment